If goods are not genuine, then product counterfeiting has occurred. If goods have been diverted from their intended channel of commerce, then the goods have been subject to product diversion.
Product counterfeiting occurs on artworks, CDs, DVDs, software recorded on CDs, fragrances, designer clothes, handbags, briefcases, automobile and airplane parts, securities, identification cards (driver's licenses, passports, visas, green cards), credit cards, smart cards, and pharmaceuticals. According to the World Health Organization, more than 7% of the world's pharmaceuticals are counterfeit. This percentage is higher in some countries, such as Colombia, where up to 40% of all medications are believed to be counterfeit. Until recently, the percentage of unauthorized medications in the United States has been virtually negligible due to a tightly controlled regulatory system that has made it extraordinarily difficult for counterfeiters to sell or distribute counterfeit medications. However, the recent explosion of internet drug sales from other countries and increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting techniques have substantially increased the amount of fraudulent drugs entering the United States.
Product diversion has also occurred on many of the aforementioned goods. Such diversion could result in the distribution and sale of goods which do not comply with the product specifications required in the markets where they are sold. For example, motorcycles intended to be sold without catalytic converters in a region with lower air pollution standards might be diverted to a region which does require such catalytic converters. Other negative effects include price inequities in certain markets, loss of exclusivity by some manufacturers or distributors, and damage to the goodwill, patent rights, and trademark rights of the manufacturer. Such diverted goods are sometimes referred to as “gray market” goods. Since the goods are genuine, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the goods have been improperly diverted. This is especially true for a variety of goods such as, for example clothing, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.
The application of security markers to an object or product for authenticating the origin and intended market of the object product are known in the prior art. These security markers can be incorporated into components which make up the object or can be incorporated into papers, inks or varnishes that are applied to the object or into to labels affixed to the object or packaging for the object. The presence of security markers verifies the authentic origin of the object and is verified by means suited to the particular nature of the marker.
Non-destructive detection of security markers via characteristic emission capture on an image sensor during or following marker excitation is also known in the prior art. Detection of particular wavelengths of light emitted by marker particles may be compromised by noise in the image if extraneous light sources include similar wavelengths of light and are conveyed into the field of view by light conducting materials. Many transparent or opaque materials are good conductors of light. Examples include glass, opaque bottles, thin polymer films and laminates, semi transparent papers etc.
Inclusion of extraneous radiation into the reader's field of view can result in illuminated pixels in the preferred marker emission image. This condition weakens the accuracy of illuminated pixel count and could lead to a passing condition when no marker emission is present, or, could lead to a failing condition where preferred marker is present in the preferred manner, but the preferred signal is overwhelmed by extraneous radiation. An accurate background subtraction is required.
Background image capture is accomplished when no excitation illumination accompanies a frame capture. This image is too noisy, that is, too much pixel to pixel intensity variation for a dark plane, to be subtracted from an emission image without worsening the noise position in the resultant image. A method for reducing noise in the background image is needed.